When Ronald Reagan was in power, the Cold War was in place. The Cold War was a long period of tension between the democracies of the Western World and the communist countries of Eastern Europe. The west was led by the United States and Eastern Europe was led by the Soviet Union. These two countries became known as superpowers. Although the two superpowers never officially declared war on each other, they fought indirectly in proxy wars, the arms race, and the space race. It lasted for much of the second half of the 20th century which resulted in mutual suspicions, heightened tensions and a series of international incidents that brought the world’s superpowers to the brink of disaster. The Cold War began not too long after World War II ended in 1945. Although, the Soviet Union was an important member of the Allied Powers, there was great distrust between the Soviet Union and the rest of the Allies. The Allies were concerned with the brutal leadership of Joseph Stalin as well as the spread of communism. Americans had been cautious of Soviet communism and are worried about Russian leader Joseph Stalin’s rule of his own country. The Cold War heated up again under President Ronald Reagan. Like many leaders of his generation, Reagan believed that the spread of communism anywhere threatened freedom everywhere. As a result, he worked to provide financial and military aid to anticommunist governments and insurgencies around the world. This policy, particularly as it was applied in the developing world in places like Grenada and El Salvador, was known as the Reagan Doctrine. Ronald Reagan wanted to become a leader because he felt his ideas in relation to taxes and the economy could help the country's financial state tremendously. Reagan thought that the government restrictions and taxation were the causes of erosion of individual freedom within the United States. He also publicly denounced about what he saw as the weakness of the U.S. government in the face of the expansive Soviet Union, which he said was bent on world domination. Also, he wanted to be able to stop the Cold War. Ronald Reagan claimed the prevailing policies of containment and détente would not bring a satisfactory end to the Cold War. President Reagan strongly disliked détente. In a 1981 news conference, he said, "So far détente's been a one-way street that the Soviet Union has used to pursue its own aims. Their goal must be the promotion of world revolution and a one world communist or socialist state." According to Reagan, the Soviets considered détente a sign of American weakness and vulnerability. Instead of détente, he wanted peace through strength by building America's economic and military power. He said, "Our strategy is defensive; our aim is to protect the peace by ensuring that no adversaries ever conclude they could best us in a war of their own choosing."  Reagan admired President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose "New Deal for the American people" provided jobs for his father and brother during the depths of the Depression. Although he never lost his admiration for Franklin D. Roosevelt, Reagan became an ardent conservative and switched his registration to Republican in 1962. Reagan's political and ideological evolution was the product of numerous factors: increased wealth, and the higher taxes that accompanied it; conflicts with leftist union leaders as an official of the Screen Actors Guild, and exposure in his General Electric days to a growing view that the federal government, epitomized by the New Deal, was stifling economic growth and individual freedom. Roosevelt, according to Reagan, was a strong leader, one to emulate in certain respects. He had taken over the presidency during a time of unprecedented crisis and implemented a plan of action to bring the nation out of its doldrums. Reagan fondly recalled Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats, which were designed to give hope to the people. “His strong, gentle, confident voice resonated across the nation with an eloquence that brought comfort and resilience to a nation caught up in a storm and reassured us that we could lick any problem. I will never forget him for that.” As governor of California later, Reagan had to deal with a Democratic legislature. “It occurred to me that I had an opportunity to go over their heads.” How? He used radio and television to communicate directly with the people of California, a tactic he traced back to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats, which, he commented, “made an indelible mark on me during the Depression.” As president, Reagan often mentioned his admiration for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s spirit of leadership. On a trip back to his alma mater, Eureka College, in 1984, he reminded his listeners what it was like to experience the Great Depression, and how the Fireside Chats had been so reassuring. “All of us who lived through those years,” he instructed them, “remember the drabness the depression brought. B